BOUND BROOK — While both are charged with official misconduct, a Bound Brook restaurant owner will be tried separately from the borough’s suspended police chief, who faces unrelated charges.

Superior Court Judge Robert Reed today said consolidating the trials of Chief Kenneth Henderson, 50, and restaurateur Rafael Rosario, 48, would "unfairly increase the danger that Rosario would be convicted of evidence inapplicable to him. That is clearly adverse to the interest of justice."

Both men are charged with trying to circumvent a raid by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control on Oct. 17, 2004, at Rosario’s Café Imperial. But the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office has also brought charges against the chief that span six years and do not involve Rosario.

"Joint trials are not favored where prejudice is shown, and wholly unrelated crimes may not be tried together in the face of a claim of prejudice," Reed said in his decision. "Here, while all of the crimes alleged are not ‘wholly unrelated,’ the majority of them are and prejudice would clearly result, should the two indictments be consolidated for the purposes of trial."

During the hearing in Somerville on the state’s motion to consolidate the indictments, Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Murphy said the danger of guilt by association is not enough to conduct separate trials. In court papers, Murphy argued joint trials are favored in circumstances like this because they permit a jury to more accurately assess culpability between defendants. They help prevent inconsistent verdicts, promote judicial efficiency and are convenient for witnesses and victims, he argued.

The indictment against the chief also accuses him of forcing an on-duty police officer to help set up Christmas decorations at the chief’s home, and of having a dispatcher sent to the chief’s house for an estimate on ceramic tile. The chief is also accused of going to an apartment without a warrant and, after seeing drugs in the unit, telling officers to "clean the place up." No one was arrested and evidence was destroyed, Murphy outlined in court.

Jurors repeatedly would be told how to handle the charges that have nothing to do with Rosario, the prosecutor said.

Rosario’s lawyer, Steven Lieberman, argued the need for repeated instructions proves there is a risk of harm. "There is no counterweight to the prejudice that we know will come up," he said.

Henderson’s lawyer, David Fasset, reiterated the argument he made in court papers, that the state sought a separate indictment for each defendant.

He said the state says it can ask for consolidation any time before trial, but did not do so. "The Rosario case has already gone to trial, at least in part," Fasset said in court. Rosario, his brother and the corporation were tried for tax evasion earlier this year. Those charges were dismissed after an auditor, the state’s primary witness, testified his figures were unreliable.